Category: Investment Activity

Greystar acquires five high-quality UK assets for £388m; unveils new pan-European Canvas brand

• The attractive assets comprise four PBSA developments in London, Manchester and Coventry, and one BTR asset in Coventry
• The acquisitions mark the continued growth of Greystar’s student portfolio across the UK
• Greystar has identified further opportunities to maximise value at these assets through leasing, asset improvements and other capital projects
• At the same time, the company has unveiled its European sustainability-focused student and young professional brand Canvas …

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Round Hill Capital, a leading global specialist real estate investor, developer and manager has today announced its latest acquisition, a new 250-bed asset in Valencia, Spain, as it continues its rapid expansion of investing in new student accommodation across the primary and secondary Iberian cities.

Designed by TCH Arquitectura and Morph Estudio, the asset will be delivered by Atitlan and Area Desarrollo, comprising 250 modern student-focused hotel-style apartments in a city with a severe shortage of quality student accommodation. It is located 200 metres away from the main city campus of Polytechnic University and Universidad de Valencia and is well-served by public transport with a nearby tram station connecting it to the two universities. The city centre is within cycling distance and 12 minutes by public transport, with Malvarrosa beach located nearby. Construction works are expected to start in 2022.

The announcement marks another major milestone for Round Hill Capital as it continues to build considerable momentum in the sector, with 40 PBSA acquisitions across Europe since 2002, including over 1,150 student beds in Iberia. The deal comes after Round Hill Capital recently announced a record €1 billion+ joint venture with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments). The partnership is one of the largest Pan-European student accommodation mandates in history …

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A joint venture between McLaren Property and PMG Group has sold a 355-bed student scheme in Cardiff to the Aberdeen Standard Pan European Residential Property Fund (ASPER) for £36m …

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Round Hill Capital, a leading global specialist real estate investor, developer and manager, has today announced a new joint venture (“the JV”) with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPP Investments”), which is responsible for investing assets in the best interest of more than 20 million CPP contributors and beneficiaries in Canada.

The JV, targeting assets in excess of €1 billion, will be one of the largest European student accommodation partnerships. It will invest in standing assets and developments across PBSA markets in Continental Europe, with capacity to invest in the major education markets across the continent. CPP Investments’ initial allocation of equity will be €475 million.

The announcement marks another major milestone for Round Hill Capital as it continues to build considerable momentum in the sector, with 40 PBSA acquisitions across the UK and Europe since 2002, including recent acquisitions in Spain, Germany and the Netherlands worth over €150 million. Assets will be operated primarily by Nido Student, Round Hill Capital’s award-winning specialist PBSA brand …

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A consortium, backed by Dutch pension fund manager APG and Blackstone, has made a £969m
(€1.1m) offer for FTSE 250-listed GCP Student Living.

Gemini Jersey JV, a new company created by APG-backed Scape Living and Blackstone’s UK student
housing platform iQ, is offering GCP shareholders 213p for each share held, an amount which
represents a 30.7% premium to GCP’s share closing price on 1 July — the last business day before the
commencement of the offer period.

GCP currently has a £1.13bn portfolio of 11 assets located primarily in London and the South East …

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Unite Students, the UK’s leading owner, manager, and developer of student accommodation, today announces the disposal of two London properties to its London Student Accommodation joint venture (‘LSAV’) with GIC for £342 million (Unite share £171 million), in line with book values and reflecting an average net initial yield of 4.0%.

The properties are located in Wembley and Whitechapel and offer 1,358 bed spaces, of which the majority are direct-let to students. The Wembley property, Arch View House, was completed for the 2020/21 academic year under a forward fund contract. The two properties had a gross asset value of £338 million as at 31 December 2020 and are valued based on stabilised net operating income of £14.2 million for the 2020/21 academic year. The disposal to LSAV follows the extension of LSAV to 2032 announced on 4 May 2021.  

LSAV will fund the acquisition through £208 million of equity from Unite and GIC and a £140 million 8-year loan facility provided by Barings. Upon completion, the Group’s see-through LTV reduces to 30% on a pro forma basis after also adjusting for the £90 million of disposals announced on 30 March 2021. The net disposal proceeds will initially be used to repay Group debt ahead of reinvestment into the development pipeline and further growth opportunities over time. The transaction will result in a small dilution to 2021 EPRA earnings of 0.4 pence per share. Accordingly, the Group retains its EPRA EPS guidance of 27-30 pence for 2021 …

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Niveda Group, a London-based developer and asset manager, has offloaded the 735-bedroom block on Liverpool’s Norton Street to an unnamed private buyer for £61.5m.

The £38m project completed in October 2019 and comprises 220,000 sq ft of purpose-built student accommodation plus social hub areas and a retail area spanning two blocks. The bedrooms are arranged into five- and six-bed cluster flats and there are also 101 self-contained studios.

Calico was designed by architecture studios KKA and, later, Falconer Chester Hall and replaces a series of now-demolished commercial buildings and a former car park close to Liverpool city centre. The main contractor was Create Construction and Fresh Student Living is the property manager …

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Watkin Jones has sold a 462-bed PBSA asset in Leicester to Deutsche Finance International (DFI) for £35.6m.

The off-market acquisition by DFI is a forward commitment to The Tannery, which Watkin Jones is set to complete ahead of the 2021/22 academic year.

The building comprises 415 en-suite rooms and 47 studios, as well amenities including a cinema room, games room, fitness studio, lounges and study areas. It will be operated by Watkin Jones’s asset management business Fresh …

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